Adding a new matter in Lawcus is a straightforward process that allows you to manage your legal matters efficiently. There are several ways to add a New Matter in Lawcus. Let's understand them in detail.
Steps to Create a New Matter in Lawcus
Click on
Matters
on the left and selectNew Matter Button
on the top right. Or, if you are in thePipeline
view, click onAdd Matter
button on the top of the respectiveStage
. Or, go toContacts
on the left and click on theName of the Contact
for which you want to add a matter and click on theAdd Matter
option on the right. Alternatively, click on+ New
button on the top, from any page, and selectNew Matter
underMatters
.The
Matter Form Pop-up
will appear on the page. Fill in all the required details in the form. Navigate through theSections Menu
options to quickly add in the details.Client Details: Enter the
Name
of theClient
. Lawcus will provide suggestions from yourContacts List
as you type. You can eitherselect a name
from thedropdown
list ortype a new name and press the Enter key
to add it to the list or you can also click on+ Add new contact
option on thedropdown
.Once you create a new contact from here, another pop-up for contact creation will appear and you have to fill in the details of the contact to save the information.
Matter Details:
Enter the
Matter Name
which is mandatory.Enter other details like
Open Date
,Close Date
,Statute of Limitations
.Click on the
Pipeline
andStage
dropdown to select the necessary value and note that both of these are mandatory.Click on the following dropdowns and select the appropriate value;
Practice Area
,Location
,Responsible Attorney
, andOriginating Attorney
. Enter theClient Reference Number
if required.
Description: Add the
Matter Description
using the text editor. You can format the text by using the toolbar options or theAI
if required.Related Contacts: Click on
+ Add Related Contact
, and then add theRelation Type
andRelated Contact
by selecting the appropriate value from the Dropdown to add anyone related to the matter. Note that you can select theInvoice Recipient Checkbox
to designate the contact asInvoice Recipient
for the matter and to send all matter invoices to the contact by default. Also note that you can always addNew Relation Type
andNew Related Contact
simply by Typing it and clicking on theEnter
button.Billing Preference:
Add the
Estimated Matter Value
if required.Billing Type: Choose from options like;
Non-billable - When you work on the matter without charging any fee.
Hourly - To bill the client on an hourly rate. To add matter-specific custom rates, click on
Add a Custom Rate
button andSelect User or User Group
from the Dropdown and addRate
. Repeat to add multiple users or user groups with different rates.Flat rate - If you are doing a
flat fee
, select this option. Further, add the flat rate underBilling Rate
.Contingency fee - Choose this option when the fee is based on the settlement amount of the case. For the Contingency fee, specify the
Billing Attorney
, theBilling Rate as a percentage
, and theSettlement Amount
. Note that the Billing Rate percentage will be calculated against the Settlement Amount to decide the fee.Evergreen Retainer: If you select this checkbox, you can then enter a
Minimum Evergreen Retainer Amount
. Lawcus will notify you whenever the balance dips below the amount specified here.Currency: Decide the currency for the matter.
Invoice Template: If you want to have any specific invoice template to be used for this matter, click in this section and select the template from the Dropdown.
Custom Fields: If custom fields have been defined for matters, you can select them by clicking the
+ Start Typing to Search
option.Members: Under the
Members, Tags and Settings
section on the right, select team members responsible for or managing the matter by clicking on theAdd Member Button
and from the available options. Their names and pictures will appear in the Members area. For the bigger list, you can always start typing to narrow down results to select the appropriate efficiently.To remove members, use the same Add Member Button and click on 'X' next to the member name to remove the member from the matter. Do not forget to click on Update to save the changes.
Tags: Click on the
Tags
button, at the right, to enter tags or keywords for this matter. You can later use these tags to search for this matter.Color: Choose a color code for the matter, which will be displayed as a top border on the Matter Card. Click on
Color Dropdown
and select the required color. If you know the Hex codes of colors, you can assign any color you want to the matter. Click on+ Custom
and type the required hexadecimal color code in the#FFFFFF
box. Or, click on thecolor palate
to select a preferred color. Copy the code to replicate it across. For custom color, click onSave and back
to save the color selection.Visibility: Set the visibility of the matter, indicating whether others can see it. Note that by default, all the matters are set as Public Matters which means all members of the organization get access to it. Toggle the
Make Private
option to limit the access to the associated members only.Finally, click on the Create button to save your changes and create the Matter entry. Lawcus will generate the Matter entry and take you to the Matter Details screen.
Note: If you need to create multiple Matter entries, use the Save & Add New
button instead of Create
. Lawcus will save the current entry and provide a blank Matter screen for your next entry.
Note: If you want to bill immediately to the client, click on Save & Invoice
option. It will take you to the billing page.
Steps to Edit a Matter
Go to
Matters
on the left and hover on the desired matter and click on theEdit Icon
. Alternatively, click open the matter, click on theEdit Button
next to theMatter Name
or click onEdit matter
underQuick Actions
.The
Matter Form
will appear. Make all necessary changes and click onUpdate
to wrap up the process.
Steps to Delete a Matter
Go to
Matters
on the left, and click open the matter. LocateDelete matter
option underQuick Actions
and click on it.Confirm Delete Action
when prompted to wrap up the process.
Steps to Close a Matter
Closing a matter in Lawcus is straightforward. It allows you to archive completed cases and remove them from your pipeline.
Click on
Matters
in the left sidebar to access the Matters screen.Locate the specific matter you want to close and click on its
Matter Card
orMatter Name
orMatter Number
to open it.In the
Quick Actions
panel, click onClose matter
option.Confirm the matter closure by clicking on
Yes
when prompted. The matter will be archived and removed from the pipeline.Alternatively, select the
Checkbox
on theMatters
page and after the selection click on theClose Matter button
.Confirm
when prompted. Note that you can also bulk-close matters with this option.
Note: Archiving a matter in Lawcus doesn't delete any information related to the case; it simply moves it to a separate, easily retrievable location.
You can always quickly filter all the closed matters on the page simply by clicking on the Closed
tab.
To Re-Open a Closed Matter
What happens when you happily close a matter you supposedly litigated and won, only to discover later that it’s going on appeal? Or what to do when a team member inadvertently closes a matter? All hope is not lost in any of these cases. You can always re-open a closed matter on Lawcus without hassle or delay with the following steps:
Click on the
Matters Tab
from the left side menu.Click on the
Closed Tab
of the Matter window.Click open the desired matter.
Under the
Quick Actions
section, click onRe-open matter
to complete the process.
FAQ Section
FAQ1: How can I automatically close a matter in Lawcus?
Answer: Currently, we don’t have the functionality to close matters from workflows in Lawcus directly.
FAQ2: Will future emails on an assigned workflow still go out for a closed matter?
Answer: Yes, future emails regarding the workflow will be sent out without any issues, even if the matter is closed.
FAQ3: Does making a user who's a matter's lead attorney inactive, remove the matter from our system?
Answer: In Lawcus, making the lead attorney of a matter inactive doesn't necessarily remove the matter itself from the system. The matter usually remains in the system and is associated with the inactive attorney. You can add another member to that matter for further action.
FAQ4: Is there a reason why contact info isn't showing on the left side of the matter information?
Answer: It is shown solely on the right side within the Clients and Contacts
section.
FAQ5: Can I assign multiple roles to the related contact of a matter?
Answer: Yes, you can add multiple relations to a related contact on the matter. You can't have multiple relations directly with one contact; instead, you must add that contact multiple times with different relations.
FAQ6: How can we change the visibility of existing matters?
Answer: While editing an existing matter, you can use the Toggle
to make it a Private Matter
or Public Matter
. Otherwise, just open the matter details page
. Under Quick Actions
, select either Set Visibility to Private
or Set Visibility to Public
based on your requirement. Confirm when prompted
to complete the process.